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Intesa Sanpaoolo enters the world of crowdfunding, acquires stake in BacktoWork24, the main platform in the sector in Italy

• Round A investment made through Neva Finventures, the corporate venture capital vehicle of the bank’s Innovation Center.• The new capital will allow BacktoWork24 to boost its industrial development process

Milan, 26 June 2019. The Intesa Sanpaolo Group has made an investment in BacktoWork24’s capital, the leading operator in the equity crowdfunding sector in Italy and administrator of the online venture capital fundraising portal www.backtowork24.com.The operation was carried out through Neva Finventures, the Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center’s corporate venture capital vehicle which invests in fintech companies complementing the Group’s activities or new, potentially disruptive business models for the sector. Thanks to the funds acquired, BacktoWork24 will support the development of the business plan, seeking to further increase the funds raised for the benefit of companies with a platform capable of drawing in an increasingly extensive network of investors.

“Neva Finventures’ investment in BacktoWork24 – said Maurizio Montagnese, Head of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center and Chairman of Neva Finventures – will allow us to gain a front-row view of the equity crowdfunding market’s trends and develop projects that look to elevate and complete the range of solutions available to startups”.

“We are proud that Neva Finventures has chosen our platform as its first step into the crowdfunding world, and we are ready to explore new types of collaboration with the Intesa Sanpaolo Group to foster the growth of Italian SMEs and startups,” said Alberto Bassi, co-founder and CEO of BacktoWork24. With this investment, our aim is to boost our growth, with the goal of becoming a leader in the equity crowdfunding market”.

Neva Finventures was assisted by the legal firm Pavia e Ansaldo, and by Pomara Scibetta & Partners for the tax matters in this operation. Trevisan & Cuonzo assisted BacktoWork24 and its shareholders.

Neva Finventures is the Corporate Venture Capital vehicle of Intesa Sanpaolo, dedicated to the Group’s strategic investments, with up to 100 million euro of start-up capital. It generally invests with minority stakes in fintech companies that complement the Group's activities, with preferential reference markets including Europe, Israel and the USA. In Italy, Neva Finventures also invests in non-fintech initiatives, seeking to position Intesa Sanpaolo as a key partner for startups with a huge growth potential, focusing on the circular and data-driven economies. Neva Finventures also invests in venture capital funds.

BacktoWork24 is the leading equity crowdfunding platform in Italy that fosters investment in startups, SMEs and real estate projects from private and professional investors. The company’s mission is to create a virtuous cycle capable of promoting, using innovative methods, a flow of funding for small businesses in order to accelerate the growth of Italy’s business fabric. BacktoWork24 offers retail, professional and institutional investors a unique opportunity to invest in carefully selected companies with a huge potential for expansion.